Stage 7 - March 18: Nice - Nice, 129.5 km

Alberto Contador on Miguel Indurain's path

The Discovery Channel team tried to sieze the power in Paris-Nice for four days
in a row, and Alberto Contador finally succeeded on the last day. One blistering
attack in the final climb over the Col d'Eze was sufficient to leave Davide Rebellin
behind, and ride into Nice as only the second Spaniard to win the 'Race to the
Sun'.

"You tell me that Miguel Indurain won Paris-Nice (in 1989 and 1990, ed.),
I didn't know about it. I'm proud to be his successor here but it doesn't mean
I'll win the Tour de France as well. I can dream about it, but dreaming is free",
Contador said.

The Spaniard also denied there was any feeling of revenge after being excluded
from last year's Tour de France. "No, this win is an important one in a race
that I like so much. I came with the intention of winning after riding well
in the Tour of Valencia" said Contador. "This is the greatest victory
in my career so far. For sure there will be a before and an after Paris-Nice
in my career. It counts in a record book."

"The key for my victory was the team work," he continued. "The other
days I was struggling in the last kilometers. Today I was well. I won with a
lot of rage. I finished the job that was unaccomplished yesterday. I knew I
had only one occasion to break away. With 1.5km, I saw the victory more clearly
than before. Only when I passed the red flag was I sure that no one would catch
me anymore."

With his yellow jersey threatened, Rebellin never panicked. On the Col d'Eze,
he didn't try to follow Contador, but no one else was able to follow, either.
Winner of the points competition, Franco Pellizotti attested, "Discovery Channel
have ridden really well. They deserve to win. They have launched a big action.
Rebellin had no team."

The "mister nice guy" of Italian cycling would never say so but it was obvious.
"I'm disappointed of course but I've given the maximum.", said Rebellin.
"Contador was the strongest. He has won uphill in Mende. He dropped everybody
off today. I felt tired. Having the yellow jersey was a satisfaction - I'd have
liked to win Paris-Nice - but my condition isn't at 100% yet, that's what I've
missed for winning. I come to the stage races like this one to improve my shape
for the classics."

Rebellin's dedication to the sport, aged 36, and his fair play are just as
admirable as Contador's message for the future of cycling.

The last chance for bonuses saw Chavanel outsprinting Kreuziger at km 15.5,
and then Voeckler secured his polka dot jersey on the Côte de Duranus at km
25. On the descent, Voeckler continued on his own. His companions got caught
by the pack, but the Frenchman persisted, and passed the Col de la Porte 16
seconds ahead of a group led by Discovery Channel. He went flat out on the downhill
and regained a one-minute lead at km 64.

It wasn't until the second to last climb of the day that the Discovery train,
led by Tom Danielson, set an incredible pace which decimated the peloton, and
caught and dropped Voeckler on the slopes of La Turbie at km 89.

On the descent, a four-man group went clear, Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Markus
Burghardt (T-Mobile), Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole) and again Francisco
Perez (Caisse d'Epargne), and was chased by Pieter Weening (Rabobank), but the
pace of the Discovery-led bunch was too quick for any move to stay clear.

In the first kilometer of the final climb, the Col d'Eze, Alberto Contador
(Discovery Channel) launched a blistering attack that left all of the other
favourites in the dust. David Lopez Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) and Tadej Valjavec
(Lampre) tried but failed to go across, while race leader David Rebellin (Gerolsteiner)
was left with no team-mates and no help in the much reduced peloton. At the
top, Rebellin had lost 44 seconds to Contador.

Fränk Schleck (CSC) was probably the one who helped Rebellin the most in the
chase, and as Contador reached the brisk cross-winds on the shoreline in Nice,
with 1.5km to go, the gap was down to 17 seconds. In the final kilometre, Rebellin
even tried to bridge it on his own but he couldn't make. A late attack from
the Caisse d'Epargne pair of David López and Joaquím Rodríguez came too late
to do any good, and Contador took the stage with time to celebrate his overall
victory as he crossed the line.